A couple charged commission by two estate agents after selling their home have won an important battle for other property owners, experts say.

George and Hilary Wood were taken to the small claims court by original agent Palmer Snell for not paying £7,935 commission - although their home was sold by Fortnam Smith & Banwell.

Many firms have a clause in their contract that states even if they do not make a sale, homeowners still pay commission.

Many estate agency firms have clauses that state even with no sale, commission must be paid

But Palmer Snell's claim was rejected by a judge last month, who cited the case Foxtons v Bicknell & Another, 2008, where the Court of Appeal ruled for an estate agent to claim commission it had to be involved in the sale, not just the introduction.

The buyer of the Woods' Dorset home had seen it first on Palmer Snell's website but could not proceed.

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When the house was re-marketed by Fortnam Smith & Banwell at a lower price, they viewed, then bought it.

Paula Higgins, HomeOwners Alliance chief executive, says: 'This ruling is vitally important because it starts the debate over what is meant by "introduced" and the issues that can - and should - render the clause void.'

What is double commission?

The majority of house sellers use estate agents, and all agents charge commission for their services. The cheapest and most common way to do this is by opting for just one agent – known as sole agency – who will help sell the home.

If they're the only one acting on your behalf, the agent will usually charge a fee of around 1.5 per cent.

There is another route, known as multiple agency. In this scenario, the seller can instruct more than one agent to sell the house. The logic here is that this can reach more potential buyers, resulting in higher offers and a faster sale.

The agent that finds the buyer in this scenario earns the commission. However, fees are higher when selling this way, typically at around 2.5 per cent.

In some sole agency contracts, the agent will state that commission is payable if the homebuyer is 'introduced' to the property by said agent.

This introduction could be something as simple as the homebuyer noticing the estate agent's 'for sale' sign outside the house.

This way, even if the agent is not involved in the actual sale, they may try to charge commission. This means that you could change agents and end up paying both - known as 'double commission'.

If you decide to cancel your agent, they will have a notice period, usually around two weeks, in which they are able to follow up any leads. Even after this period ends however, some contracts could still stipulate that the seller has to pay a fee if the buyer was introduced by the agent.

It is essential that sellers always read the small print in their contract to ensure that they don't get ripped off - though after this ruling it will be easier to challenge this sort of practice.

You can find This is Money's guide on how to find the best online estate agent here.